Cotton-harvester.



T. E. WILLIS & J. W. RODGERS.

Patented 001. 24, 1911.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

2 E. Maw

0 WRUWW g QUOTA 1113 T. B. WILLIS & J. W. RODGERS. COTTON HARVESTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 18, 1909. 1,006,614, Patented 001). 24, 1911.

BSHEETS-SHEET 2.

venfoz Wihwooeo 3 Mil l UNITED STAiEljIgLTENT OFFICE.

THOMAS E. WILLIS AND JOSEPH W. RODGERS, OF :HENNESSEY, OKLAHOMA.

COTTON-HARVESTEB.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 24, 1911.

Applicatiun filed August 18, 1909. Serial No. 513,488.

Our invention relates to harvesting ma chines, and particularly to amachine adapted to harvest cotton or any like plant, the object of theinvention being to provide a machine which is adapted to be drawn alongthe row. of growing cotton to remove the cot-' ton bolls from the stalk,carry the cotton bolls upward to a crusher wherein the hull of thecotton is crushed, then to carry the crushed cotton bolls into contactwith a multiplicity of cleaning saws which will act to tear the cottonapart and to remove the hulls therefrom, and eventually to carry thecotton from the machine into any suitable receptacle, as a cart movingbeside the machine.

In its broad features, the invention includes a wheeled frame havingstalk-stripping mechanism or picking mechanism moving astraddle of therow and operating to engage the stalk and to pick therefrom all thebolls of cotton, whatever their height may be, within ordinary limits ofcotton growth. This cotton is picked by opposed revolving pickers,consisting of rotatable shafts having picking fingers projectingtherefrom. These fingers carry the cotton to opposed elevator belts bywhich the cotton bolls are carried upward and dumped into a hopper of acrusher. This crusher consists preferably of two opposed platesrelatively rotatable with regard to each other, these plates preferablybeing corrugated or otherwise formed so as to crush 0r smash the hullssurrounding the cotton bolls. The cleaning mechanism comprises a seriesof saws against which the cotton is forced and by which it is carriedthrough and between parallel bars and into contact with rotatablebrushes. The cotton then passes to an elevator or conveyer, as beforestated. The several mechanisms, that is, the picking, elevating,crushing and cleaning mechanisms are all driven from the traction wheelsof the machine, and all operate as the machine is dragged along the rowto pick the cotton therefrom and carry it and the merits thereof, and toacquire a knowledge of the details of construction, reference is to behad to the following descrlption and accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of our improved cotton harvester; Fig. 2 isa plan view thereof; Fig. 3 is a sectional View showing the cleaning andseparating mechanism. on the line w--m of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a transversedetail section of the' picking shafts and the elevator chutes; Fig. 5 isa fragmentary perspective view of one end of a picker shaft showin themeans for removing cotton from tie picking fingers; Fig. 6 is afragmentary section of one end of the canvas cylinder surrounding aicking shaft; and, Fig. 7 is a section 0 the crushing hopper andcrushing plates therein.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawing by the samereference characters.

Referring to the drawings, 2 and 3 designate ordinary traction wheelshaving teeth projecting from their faces. The axle 7 carries upon it thesprocket wheel 1. A frame 5 of any suitable character is supported uponthe axle 7, and upon this frame is carried the operating mechanism. Theforward end of the frame is provided with the U-shaped yoke 6 whicharches over the picking and elevating mechanism. Mounted upon the frame,rearward of the traction wheels, is the main driving shaft 8 whichcarries on it a sprocket wheel 9 alining with the sprocket wheel 4 anddriven therefrom by a sprocket chain 10. One extremity of, the shaft 8extends outward slight-1y beyond one side of the frame and is thereprovided with the bevel gear wheel 12 which gears with a bevel wheel 13on a stub shaft 14, this shaft also carrying a sprocket wheel 15.

Mounted upon the rear of the supporting frame 5 is the box or casing 16which contains the boll-crushing mechanism and the cleaning mechanism.Projecting from the casing 16 is a shaft 17 which carries upon it thesprocket wheel 18 which is driven by the sprocket chain 21 passingaround the sprocket wheel 15. The extremity of the shaft 17 is providedwith a sprocket wheel 19 over which passes a sprocket chain 20 whichengages with a sprocket wheel 21 on a shaft 22. The sprocket chain 21also passes beneath a sprocket wheel ona shaft 23 and drivesthe same.The extremity of 1 the shaft 22' carries a sprocket wheel 24,

which through a sprocket chain 25 drives a sprocket wheel 26 on a shaft27. These shafts, as will be laterdescribed, are the operatingshafts forthe cleaning rolls and brushes and the elevator. The shaft 8 carriesupon it'a sprocket wheel 28 which by '7 means of a sprocket chain 29drives a stub shaft 30 which operates the picking mechanism to be laterdescribed. This shaft 30 also carries a sprocket wheel 31 through whicha sprocket chain 32 drives an elevator-actuating shaft The pickingmechanism is mounted on an inclined frame comprising opposed side-bars34 which are upwardly and .rearwardly inclined and supported upon theyoke 6. The lower ends of the side bars 34-are inwardlybent as at 37 andare formed at their ends with bearings .36 for the opposed rearwardlyand upwardly extendingf'pioker shafts 40, the upper ends of these shaftsbeing mounted in suitable bearings on a crosspiece extendmg between thes-idepieces 34. These shafts 40 are parallel to each other, rotated inopposite directions, and are provided with a plurality of outwardlyprbjecting pins 41, the ends of these pins overlapping where they passeach other. .The two shafts are spaced sufficiently apart to permit themto straddle a row of cotton so that ,the' stalks .of the row willproject up between the picker shafts, and so" that in the rotation ofthe shafts, the picker fingers or pins 41 will break the cot ton bollfrom the stalk or strip it therefrom.

tions away from the center of the stripper toward the sides thereof. Itwill also be seen that the picker shafts being inclined,

the fingers will engage withthe cotton bolls,- no matter what the heightof thesamemay be. on the stalks.

As a means of-elevating the cotton bolls stripped by the fingers 41, weprovide on each side of. the frame the conveyor troughs 45 shown mostclearly in Fig. 4, into which the rotton will be carried by the fingers41,

the cotton being forced off these fingers by means which will be laterdescribed. These troughs are formed with inwardly PIOJGCt- 'ing hoods 45which extend overthe stripper shafts. ,Each of the troughs 45 isprovided withan endless conveyor belt 46 having convevcr liladcsthereon. These belts at. their lower ends are carried in rollerssupported on shafts 47 mounted on the lower end of the inclined frame,and at their upper ends the conveyer belts pass over rollers mounted onthe shaft 33 driven as before described. Thus, as themachine moves alongthe field,

.the stripper-shafts will be rotated, stripping shaft 53 carrying uponit the rotatable crushing disk 54 which is corrugated or formed with aplurality of bosses 55 projecting from its face. The inclined side ofthe hopper 51 extends down to the center of rotation of the plate 54, asshown in Fig. 7, and from this point a partition plate 56 extendsdownward to the bottom of the hopper structure. This plate 56 is alsoprovided with corrugations or bosses. Thus, the cotton bolls placedwithin the hopper pass downward between two plates 54 and 56, and thebolls are crushed. The shaft 53 carries on its end a sprocket wheel 57which is driven by a sprocket chain 58 from a sprocket wheel 59 mountedon the shaft 33.

From the crushing plates, the cotton bolls pass downward into a casing60 which is divided into two parts by a plurality of bars 61, these barsbeing curved, as shown in Fig. 3. Mounted in the casing 60 on the intakeside of the casing, is the rotatable beater 62 mounted on the shaft 22.This beater comprises a cylinder having projecting from it a number ofcurved teeth 63, whereby the cotton is drawn downward and fed to a gangof saws 64 mounted on the shaft 17. This shaft 17 is driven by thesprocket chain 21, as previously described. The saws are set alternatelyto the bars 61 and act to draw the cotton through these bars, these barsacting as cleaners or clearer-s to detach the cotton from .the hull. Atthe lower end of the front part of the casing 0 is a rotatable shedder()5 having projecting from it a plurality of hooks, this shedder actingto throw the hulls away from the saws and prevent the clogging of thesaws. Mounted beyond the saws (34 is the rotatable brush (36 having thebristles (37, this brush vgathering the cotton from the saws anddelivering it to the conveyer belt 70, whereby thecotton is carried to awagon or to any other desired point. The rotatable brush (36 is mountedon a shaft 23, having a sprocket gear 23 engaged by a belt 21 and theconveyer belt is mounted upon the shaft which is rotated as beforedescribed. The conveyer 70 is mounted in a conveyor trough 71 which ishinged at its rear cnd,as at 72.

'upon the casing 16 at its delivery mouth. The free end of the conveyertrough 71 may be lifted up or down by means of a cord or connection 73which passes over a guide roller 74, and is wound upon a shaft 75 havingthereon the crank 7 6. Any other means, however, may be. used forelevating the conveyer trough.

The means for forcing the cotton engaged by the stripping fingers 41 offof said fingers and into the troughs 45 andpreventing the cotton fromfalling down between the fingers after it has been stripped, is asfollows: Mounted upon the ends of the stripper shafts 40, as shown in.Fig. 6, and rigidly attached to the frame bars 34, are the cocentricdisks 80, these disks being fixed, it will be understood, andnonrotatable. 81 designates a tube or cylinder of canvas, or othersuitable material, which is braced by a series of interior, longitudinalstrips 83. These strips may be made of any suitable material, andpreferably some of the strips are of iron, while some are of wood. Theends of this canvas cylinder, or morecorrectly, the ends of the strips83 are supported on the eccentrics 80, the pins or fingers 41 passingthrough some of the strips 83 or through the canvas body of thecylinder, so that the cylinder is freely movable upon the pins. It willbe seen from Fig. 4 that the eccentrics 80 are so placed that the largeportion of the eccentric extends outward or toward the troughs 45, andit will be obvious that upon a rotation of the shafts 40, the fingerswill be gradually withdrawn into the canvas cylinder, as they approachthe troughs 45, whereas those fingers 41 which are projecting toward theopposite stripper and engaging with a plant, extend practically entirelyout of the cylinder 81. Gotton picked up upon the fingers 41 or otherwise engaged thereby will thus be gradually forced out to theextremities of the fingers, and when the fingers arrive opposite to theentrance to the trough 45, the cotton will be forced entirely out andwill fall into the trough. The cylinder 81 prevents the cotton fallingthrough the fingers after once it has been lifted as would be the casewas there nothing for the cotton to rest upon, and also clears the pinsor fingers from adhering cotton.

The operation of the invention is as follows: The harvester is movedalong the cotton row, and in its course, the stripping fingers will tearthe cotton bolls from the stalk and deposit the cotton bolls onto theupwardly moving conveyer belts. The conveyer belts carry the bolls tothe crushing hopper, into which the bolls drop. The bolls pass betweenthe crushing plates, and the hulls are smashed. They thence pass intothe cleaning compartment, where the saws tend to tear the cotton fromthe hulls,

the hulls beingthrown to one side by the cylinder 65. The cotton isdrawn between the bars 61 and is then gathered from the saws by means ofthe brush 66 which deposits it upon the conveyer 70, whereby the cottonis carried to the desired point.

It will be seen that our invention is thoroughly effective in operation,and that it not only picks the cotton, but delivers the cotton in arelatively clean state and practically in a condition such as the cottonwoudlld have after having been cleaned by han \Vhile we have shown whatwe believe to be the preferable form of our invention, it will beobvious that many modifications might be made, particularly in thesystem of driving gears employed, the crushing and cleaning mechanismsbeing of course adapted to be driven from the traction wheels 3 in manydifferent ways which will be obvious to any skilled mechanic.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed as new is 1. In acotton harvester, picking mechanism including upwardly and rearwardlyextending, spaced parallelshafts, each provided. with radiallyprojecting fingers, the fingers on one shaft overlapping the fingers onthe other, a trough for each of said shafts, into which the cotton is tobe oleposited from the picking fingers, and a rotatable cylindersurrounding each picking shaft and eccentrically set thereto, throughwhich cylinder the picking fingers pass.

2. In a cotton harvester, picking mechanism including opposed upwardlyand rear- Wardly extending parallel shafts, conveyer troughs mountedadjacent to and parallel with each of said shafts, a rotatable cylinderinclosing each of said shafts and larger than the same, said cylinderbeing seteccentrically to the inclosed shaft and having its swellextended toward said troughs, and picking fingers radially projectingfrom each shaft and extending through said cylinder, the length of thefingers being equal to the greatest distance between the cylinder andthe picker shaft, said picking fingers on one cylinder overlapping thepick ing fingers on the other cylinder.

3. In a cotton harvester, picking mechanism including opposed parallelshafts rotatable toward each other in opposite directions, a conveyertrough for each of said shafts mounted exteriorly thereto and paralleltherewith, fixed eccentrics surrounding the shaft, but not rotatabletherewith, said eccentrics extending outward from the shaft and nearlyinto contact with the trough, a cylinder surrounding the shaft androtatable upon the-fixed eccentrics, and picking fingers on each shaftprojecting radially outward therefrom and passing through said cylinder.

&

41 In cotton harvester, picking. mecha-' I nism. including opposedparallel upwardly and rearivardly inclined shafts, each provided withradial stripping fingers, the tingers of one shaft overlapping thefingers of'the other shaft, opposed conveyer troughs arranged on theouter side of each of said shafts, approximately in the path of travelof the stripping fingers, hoods extendin over the conveyer troughs andpartly around the ends of the stripping fingers, eccentric diskssurrounding each shaft, but not rotatable therewith, said eccentricdisks having theirlongest radii extending toward and contacting with theinner edge of the adjacent trough, "a cylinder surrounding each of theshafts and supported upon the eccentric disk, said cylinder, however,being rotatable upon the disks, the stripping fingers on the shaftspassing through said cylinder'and acting to rotate the same.

5. In a cotton harvestenpicking mecha msm including a frame, upwardlyand rearwardly inclined opposed picking shafts mounted in the frame androtatable in opposite directions, radially projecting fingers on theshafts, the fingers of one shaft overlapping the fingers of the othershaft, up- Wardlyinclined troughs, one on. the outside of each of thepicking shafts, conveyers mounted in said trough, eccentric diskssurrounding each of the shafts, but

not rotatable therewith, a cylinder of fabric surrounding each of saidshafts, but larger nal strips supporting each cylinder, and

means for giving to the shafts rotation in opposite directions to eachother.

6. In a cotton harvester, picking mechanism including an upwardly andrearwardly inclined frame, opposed parallel upwardly and rearwardlyinclined shafts mounted. in

the frame, toothed gears on the upper ends of said shafts meshing witheaci other, means for driving said gears and thereby rotating theshafts, upwardly inclined conveyer troughs, one on the outside of eachof said shafts, eccentric disks surrounding the shafts, but nonrotatabletherewith, said disks extending outward toward the adjacent trough, acylinder surrounding each of the shafts, but larger than the same, saidcylinderbeing carried upon the eccentric disks, but nonrotatabletherewith, and radial fingers attached to each shaft and projecting outtherefrom through the cylinder inclosing the same.

In testimony whereof We afiix'our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

THOMAS E. WILLIS. [L. s.] JOSEPH IV. RODGERS. [Ls] Witnesses AMBROSEDIXON, W, O. Lovmrn.

